Penn Hills School District Partners with Local Police and BusPatrol to Enhance School Bus Safety

November 13, 2024 – Penn Hills – In a proactive effort to combat dangerous driving behavior around school buses, Penn Hills School District has partnered with the Penn Hills Police Department and BusPatrol to launch a new school bus safety enforcement program aimed at protecting students. 

As part of this initiative, all school buses serving the Penn Hills School District will be equipped with advanced photo enforcement technology. This system captures images of vehicles that illegally pass school buses when their stop signs are extended, putting children at risk. The video footage is then shared with local law enforcement for review before violation notices are issued. 

The program officially launched on November 11, 2024, alongside a public education and awareness campaign designed to inform both drivers and students. The campaign focuses on education motorists about school bus safety laws and teaching children how to safely board and exit buses. 

Nationwide, it is estimated that school buses are illegally passed more than 43.5 million times each year. In Pennsylvania, nearly 200 violations were reported in just one day during Operation Safe Stop 2023 – equating to approximately 31,500 violations over a full school year. 

Dr. John Mozzocio, Superintendent of Penn Hills School District, emphasized the importance of the initiative: "The safety of our students is our top priority. This program represents a critical step towards ensuring that our students can safely board and exit their school buses. We are proud to be apart of this partnership to bring this important safety measure to our community."

Justin Meyers, President and Chief Innovation Officer at BusPatrol said that the safety initiative is proven to make roads safer: "In other communities, the use of this technology has reduced instances of motorists recklessly disregarding school bus stop signs by over 40%. This significant reduction demonstrates how our program effectively changes behavior and contributes to safer roadways. We look forward to working with the Penn Hills School District to make roads safer for all students."

As stated by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, motorists must stop at least 10 feet away from school buses with red lights flashing and stop-arm extended. The penalty for a first-time violation is $300.

To learn more about the Penn Hills School District Bus Safety Program, please visit www.phsd.org/community/school-bus-safety-program. 

For more information, contact Lydia Richardson at lricha@phsd.org.